Author: Ginger the Mom

Bacon in the Oven

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So we want BLTs for lunch.  What a chore – cook the bacon, clean up the mess. Finally, make the sandwich.  Even in the microwave six slices took ten minutes.  That is why we always cook bacon, a pound at a time, in the oven and keep it in the freezer.  Instant BLT, instant bacon crumbles on the tomato soup, ditto salad.  Yes, I know you can buy bacon crumbles, but it is not the same.

Ingredients:

  • sliced bacon – at least a pound, maybe two
  • parchment paper or aluminum foil
  • rimmed baking sheet(s) – the larger the better
  • tongs
  • paper towels

Directions:

  1. Heat the oven to 400°.
  2. Prepare the baking sheet. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. It helps with cleanup to overlap on all four sides.
  3. Arrange the bacon on the baking sheet in a single layer. The slices can be close together or touching, but don’t let them overlap or they’ll stick together during cooking.
  4. Bake the bacon until the bacon is deep golden brown and crispy, about 14 minutes for regular bacon and 18 minutes for thick-cut bacon. Exact baking time will depend on the thickness of the bacon and how crispy you like it. Begin checking the bacon after 12 minutes.
  5. Use tongs to transfer the bacon to the paper towels.

If you want to save the bacon grease, (How else do you make cottage fried potatoes??) let it cool slightly, then pour it  into a heatproof container and refrigerate. If you don’t want to save the grease, let it solidify on the baking sheet, then crumple the foil or paper around it and discard.

Storage: Refrigerate leftover bacon for 1 week or freeze it for up to 3 months. Rewarm the bacon in the microwave or oven before serving.

Serves:  Your guess is as good as mine!

Source: thekitchn.com

Citrus Vinaigrette

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Really refreshing – especially for summer.  Yes, it seems too simple to need a recipe.  But sometimes a recipe is a good reminder.  

Ingredients:

  • 1 small shallot, finely chopped
  • 3/4 c olive oil
  • 1/4 c Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • 3 Tab fresh lemon juice
  • 2 Tab fresh orange juice
  • 1/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Directions:

  1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small jar.
  2. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Shake to blend.

DO AHEAD: Vinaigrette can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Shake before using.

Serves: Makes 1 1/2 cups

Source  Epicurious.com

Cream Cheese Puff Pastry

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This is where your creativity can soar!  Yea, basic cream cheese is good but cream cheese with something in it can be outstanding.  Just go through your spice shelf and refrigerator – bacon bits, basil, black pepper, caraway, cayenne pepper, celery seed, chives, cilantro, cinnamon, crispy onions, curry, dill, olives (chopped), paprika, parsley, poppy seed, rosemary, sesame, sun dried tomatoes, tarragon, wasabi etc.  Don’t waste time with one sheet and so small an amount of cream cheese.  Go into mass production and freeze for future parties/snacks.  Just be sure to label them.

Ingredients:

  • cooking spray
  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
  3. Cut thawed puff pastry sheet in half. (Pinch together cracks at folds.)
  4. Cut each half into 6 small squares.
  5. Put a spoonful of cream cheese on one side of each square.
  6. Brush edges with water.
  7. Fold over diagonally to make a triangle.
  8. Press edges to seal.
  9. Transfer pastries to the prepared baking sheet.
  10. Brush beaten egg over top of the pastries to add shine.
  11. Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden, about 20 minutes.

Source: Allrecipes!

Heartland Chopped Salad

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In our family, the MEN do the cooking for Mother’s Day dinner.  Scott make this salad – outstanding!! 

Note: You can buy the pomegranate molasses but it is hard to find.  You can easily make your own…4 cups pomegranate juice, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.  Bring to a boil then simmer until you have about 1 cup left.  This takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Just be careful toward the end that you monitor the molasses so it does not burn.  The temperature of the molasses when finished was 240°.  The results are a thick, sweet, but tart, pomegranate molasses.  And it gives this dressing it’s wonderful flavor.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 c dried cranberries
  • 1 bunch dinosaur kale (lacinato kale), ribs removed and leaves coarsely chopped
  • 4 oz baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 ripe Asian pear, cored, halved and chopped (Bosc good too)
  • 1 1/2 c Overcooked Wild Rice, recipe follows
  • 1/2 c toasted walnuts/pecans, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 c pomegranate nibs (Please, look for the ones in a container – whole pomegranates are a messy deal)
  • Pomegranate Molasses Dressing, recipe follows

Directions:

  1. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan.
  2. Add the dried cranberries and let sit for 15 minutes.
  3. Drain off excess water.
  4. Combine the kale, spinach, pear, rice, walnuts and rehydrated cranberries in large bowl.
  5. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the Pomegranate Molasses Dressing over.
  6. Gently toss until evenly coated.
  7. Transfer to a serving bowl.
  8. Drizzle with more dressing when ready to serve.

Overcooked Wild Rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 c wild rice
  • Kosher salt

Directions:

  1. Combine the rice, 6 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt in a large saucepan.
  2. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the grains open all the way, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. The rice should be very cooked (not even the slightest chewy).
  3. Drain well.
  4. Spread on a baking sheet in an even layer and set aside.
  5. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Yield: 3 cups

Pomegranate Molasses Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 c white wine vinegar
  • 2 Tab pomegranate molasses
  • 1 Tab clover honey
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 c olive oil

Directions:

  1. Whisk together the vinegar, pomegranate molasses, honey, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl until combined.
  2. Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified.
  3. The dressing will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 2 days.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Serves:  4-6

Source:  Food Network, Bobby Flay

This entry was posted in Salads.

Chocolate Cherry Cake…

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Never turn down a recipe from someone who has been cooking for more that 50 years.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg dark fudge cake mix
  • 1 21 oz can cherry pie filling
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven 359°.
  2. Stir all together.
  3. Pour the batter into a greased 9 X 13 pan.
  4. Bake 30 minutes at 350°.

Icing:

Ingredients:

  • 1 c sugar
  • 5 Tab butter/margarine
  • 1/2 c milk

Directions:

  1. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  2. Remove from heat.
  3. Add 6 oz. chocolate chips. (1 cup)
  4. Stir until smooth.
  5. Pour on hot cake.
  6. Enjoy!

Serves: 12-18

Source:  Marilyn Criner, Vi at Highlands Ranch

Hard Boiled Eggs – More Than You Ever Wanted to Know

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This is what the experts say!  I say – take your chances and hope for the best.  Always boil a few extra just in case.  Use not farm fresh, room temperature eggs.  Peel them at room temperature, not cold from the fridge.  For altitude, add 5 minutes to boil/wait time.

Check the internet – there are directions for every other cooking device you can name.

How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs That Are Actually Easy to Peel
Because no one has time to spend 15 minutes peeling an egg.

Why can’t all hard-boiled eggs be easy-peel hard-boiled eggs? For a food that seems so simple to make (eggs + water), boiled eggs can be utterly infuriating—especially when it comes to the peeling. You’ve been there: All that’s standing between you and egg korma (or egg salad) is a bunch of just-boiled eggs and yet it’s taking you 15 minutes to peel each one and you’re removing huge gashes of white with every tiny shard of stubborn shell. It’s enough to drive you mad, even if you aren’t very, very hungry.

The truth of the matter is that making easy-peel hard-boiled (or soft-boiled!) eggs starts well before you get to the peeling. It begins with the eggs you choose, how you cook them, and how to treat them once your timer (yes, you must set a timer) dings. For eggs with yellow yolks set to your liking and pearly, smooth, unblemished exteriors, follow these guidelines for how to make hard-boiled eggs:

  1. Don’t use super-fresh eggs.  Farm-fresh eggs are going to be harder to peel—it’s a matter of their particular chemistry. To minimize frustration, save those straight-from-the-hen eggs for frying and scrambling and use a carton from the grocery store when you’re boiling.
  1. Start the eggs in boiling water.  Eggs added to boiling water rather than brought to a boil in the pot along with the cold water will be easier to peel. Plus, when you’re boiling eggs with the intention of jamminess—say, for soy-marinated eggs, this method allows for more precise timing. (Otherwise, you’ll have to watch closely to observe the exact moment the water comes to a boil.)  The biggest risk with adding eggs to boiling water is that they’ll crack and end up deflated and lopsided. To minimize that risk, scoot them in gingerly, using a spoon, then maintain a gentle simmer rather than a vigorous bubble so that they don’t knock around in the pot. Cook up to 8 eggs in a 2-quart saucepan—more than that and they might butt heads and crack open.
  1. Set a timer.  That’s 7 minutes for jammy eggs with firm but gooey yolks, 10 minutes for cooked through (but not chalky). If you’re using XL or jumbo eggs, you’ll need a bit more time.
  1. Use an ice bath.  Unless you halt their cooking, that timer was for naught. Let the eggs hang out in the cold water for a couple of minutes, until they’re just cool enough to handle, 2–3 minutes.  Using an ice bath helps halt the cooking process. Carry-over-cooking, be gone!
  1. Peel the eggs under the water while they’re still slightly warm. This keeps the pesky shells—which should slip off fairly easily—contained. It also helps if you crack the egg at the fattest end, where you’ll find the air pocket, and peel from there. If you’re still having trouble, peeling eggs under a running faucet can help the shells slide off.

Keep any eggs you won’t be using right away unpeeled, though—they’ll last longer that way!—and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Source:  Bon Appetite, Sarah Jampel

Classic Hard Boiled Eggs on the Stovetop

This is the old-fashioned straight up way of hard-boiling eggs. Water and heat—that’s all you need. And a kitchen timer. Just cover the eggs with water, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let the eggs sit for about ten minutes.

  • Method:
  • Cover the eggs in a saucepan with water.
    Fill a saucepan about a quarter of the way with cold water. Place the eggs in a single layer at
    the bottom of the saucepan. Add more water so that the eggs are covered by at least an inch
    or two of water.
    The more eggs that are crowding the pan the more water you should have over the eggs. 6
    eggs should be covered by at least an inch, 7 to 12 eggs, 2 inches.
  • Heat the pot on high heat and bring the water to a full rolling boil.
    Adding a teaspoon of vinegar to the water may help keep egg whites from running out if an
    egg does crack while cooking. Also some people find adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the water
    helps prevent cracking as well as making the eggs easier to peel.
  • Turn off the heat, keep the pan on the hot burner, cover, and let sit for 10-12 minutes.
    If you have the type of stove burner that doesn’t retain heat when turned off, you might want
    to lower the temp to low, simmer for a minute, and then turn it off.
    Depending on how cooked you like your hard boiled eggs, the eggs should be done perfectly
    in 10-12 minutes. That said, depending on your altitude, the shape of the pan, the size of the
    eggs, the ratio of water to eggs, it can take a few minutes more.
    Or if you like your eggs not fully hard cooked, it can take a few minutes less. When you find a
    time that works for you, given your preferences, the types of eggs you buy, your pots, stove,
    and cooking environment, stick with it.
    If I’m cooking a large batch of eggs, after 10 minutes I’ll sacrifice one to check for doneness,
    by removing it with a spoon, running it under cold water, and cutting it open. If it’s not done
    enough for my taste, I’ll cook the other eggs a minute or two longer.
    I also find that it is very hard to overcook eggs using this method. I can let the eggs sit,
    covered, for up to 15-18 minutes without the eggs getting overcooked.
  • Strain the water from the pan and run cold water over the eggs to cool them quickly and stop
    them from cooking further
    Or, if you are cooking a large batch of eggs, remove them with a slotted spoon to a large bowl
    of ice water.
    I find it easiest to peel the eggs under a bit of running water.
    The best way to store hard boiled eggs is in a covered container in the refrigerator. Eggs can
    release odors in the fridge which is why it helps to keep them covered.
    They should be eaten within 5 days.
  • Pros: Simple and doesn’t require any special equipment
  • Con: Sometimes eggs are hard to peel, especially farm-fresh eggs
  • Best for: Easter eggs or egg salad

Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs

To do this, place the eggs in a steamer basket in a pan with about an inch of water, then steam for about ten minutes.

  • Method:
  • Prepare pot and steamer basket:  If you are using a steamer basket, fill a saucepan with as much water as needed to reach the bottom of the steamer basket (about 1 inch or so). If you are not using a steamer basket, just fill the bottom of a saucepan with 1/2 inch of water.
  • Heat water to boiling.  Heat the water on high heat until it is boiling and producing steam. 
  • Turn off the heat
  • Add eggs to pot:  Gently place the eggs at the bottom of the steamer basket or the bottom
    of the pan.
  • Turn the heat back on again to medium high, and cover the pot.  This method works best if the eggs are in a single layer, but you can double them up as well, you’ll just need to add more time to the steaming time.
  • Set your timer and steam the eggs:  Set your timer for 6 minutes for soft boiled, 10 minutes for hard boiled with a still translucent and bright yolk, or 12-15 minutes for cooked-through hard boiled. If you have doubled up the eggs in the pan and they are not in a single layer, you may need to add a couple minutes or so to the cooking time for hard boiled.
    Note that many things will influence the steaming time, including altitude and the size of the
    particular eggs you are using.
  • Remove eggs to a bowl of icy cold water:  Remove eggs with a spoon to a bowl of cold water or ice water, or run cold water directly into the pan to cover the eggs and quickly cool them down.
  • Pros: Great for making easy-to-peel eggs with farm-fresh eggs
  • Cons: Can only cook about 6 eggs at once (more are ok, but the cooking time can be less predictable)
  • Best for: Deviled eggs, pickled eggs, salads like Nicoise salad
Source:   Simply Recipes, Carrie Havranek

Easy Hard Boiled Eggs (in oven)

Making hard boiled eggs in the oven AKA Baked Hard Boiled Eggs is a foolproof method for perfect hard boiled eggs every time!

Method:

  • First, preheat oven to 325ºF.
  • Place 12 large eggs (straight out of the fridge) into a muffin tin.
  • Bake at 325ºF for 25-32 minutes:
    25 minutes: Medium with a jelly consistency and hard to peel
    27 minutes: Moist, fully cooked, a little hard to peel
    30 minutes: Fully cooked and easier to peel
    32 minutes: Fully cooked, chalky consistency, and easiest to peel
  • While your eggs are baking, create your ice water bath. Fill a large bowl with water and then add ice.
  • Once your eggs are done cooking, remove the muffin tin from the oven and immediately transfer eggs into the ice water bath for 10 minutes. This will make the eggs easier to peel and prevent the yolk from changing color.
  • After 10 minutes, remove eggs from ice bath and either store in the fridge for up to 1 week, or peel and eat immediately.
    Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.

Source:  Fit Foodie

How to Make Boiled Eggs in the Microwave
Method:

  • Add 2 to 6 eggs in the bottom of a microwave safe bowl.
  • Cover the eggs with water at least 1/2 inch above the eggs.
  • Add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt for each egg (1 teaspoon for 2 eggs and 3 teaspoons for 6 eggs.)
  • Microwave for 4 minutes for 2 eggs, 5 minutes for 4 eggs, 6 minutes for 6 eggs.
  • Fill another bowl with ice and water or cold water.
  • If you want soft boiled eggs with runny egg yolks, immediately remove the eggs from the water and
  • plunge in a ice cold water.
    If you want hard boiled eggs, allow them to stay in the hot water for 2-3 additional minutes. Two minutes will give you just slightly creamy egg yolks. Three minutes will give you firm egg yolks.

Source:  Just Microwave It.

That Sausage Rice Casserole You Asked For

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When Margie was in college she spent a summer in Woods Hole  Massachusetts on a program called Sea Semester. The class included a 6 weeks on land and 6 week sail to New England, Canada, and the Grand Banks on a 125 ft Staysail Schooner. They did everything on the ship – set sails, swab decks and cook.  There were frequent calls for recipes.  This is one of them.  It was the beginning of our family cook book – The Blue Book.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb fresh bulk sausage
  • 1 c rice
  • 1 can chicken gumbo soup (Margie used Cream of Chicken.  Celery or mushroom would work too)
  • a spoonful or two of ketchup
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 c water
  • (Margie added a bag of frozen spinach)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Break up the sausage in a frying pan.
  3. Brown well.
  4. Drain off fat.
  5. Stir in rice.  Add soup, ketchup, chili powder, and water (and spinach).
  6. Mix well.
  7. Place in casserole.
  8. Cover tightly.
  9. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Serves:  8-10

Source:  An old newspaper recipe Margie found tucked in an old cookbook.

Butterscotch Sauce

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Pretty basic, but I like it a little thinner so I added another 1/4 cup of sour cream.

FYI:  Butterscotch vs Caramel
The flavor of caramel is characterized by caramelized white sugar independent of molasses, butter or even salt. Butterscotch sauce is made with dark brown sugar, butter, salt, and some cream. Caramel sauce does not have to include butter, but butter is an integral part of butterscotch.

Ingredients:  

  • 1 c brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 Tab butter
  • 1/4 c sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

  1. Mix the brown sugar, butter and sour cream together in a medium saucepan.
  2. Cook the mixture on low heat.
  3. Constantly stir the mixture for about 5 minutes or until the mixture has melted and is bubbling.
  4. Remove from heat.
  5. Add the vanilla.
  6. Pour over dessert of your choice.

Servings: 4

Source:  Daisy.com

Potato Gratin (Pommes Dauphinois)

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“The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table and is made of layers of thinly sliced potatoes bathed in garlic-infused cream and topped with cheese, then baked until the cheese melts and the potatoes turn soft on the inside, slightly crusty on top. The dish lends itself to much improvisation, as Greenspan explains in her “Bonne Idée”:  for a dash of colour, try substituting sweet potato for an equal amount of russets, or add a layer of cooked chopped spinach or chard, sautéed mushrooms, or steamed small broccoli florets. Bits of cooked bacon or strips of lightly sautéed pancetta would also work well, and in place of the Gruyère, try Parmesan or a blue cheese like Gorgonzola.”

These are TO DIE FOR!!  Margie made them for Easter using  Cheddar cheese.  If you let them wait in a warm oven for about half an hour, all the cream is absorbed by the potatoes.

Ingredients:

  • 1¾ c heavy cream
  • 3 garlic cloves, split, germ removed, and finely chopped
  • 2-2¼ lbs Idaho (russet) potatoes
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Light cream or whole milk, if needed
  • Small thyme or rosemary sprigs (optional)
  • ¼ lb cheese, preferably Gruyere, grated (about 1 cup)

Directions:

  1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 °.
  2. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment.
  3. Generously butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate (a Pyrex pan is perfect) or other 2-quart baking pan and put it on the baking sheet.
  4. Put the heavy cream and garlic in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over low heat.
  5. Keep it warm while you work on the potatoes.
  6. If you’ve got a mandoline or Benriner slicer, now’s the time to get it out; if not, you can use the thin slicing blade of a food processor or a sturdy sharp knife. One by one, peel the potatoes and slice them into rounds about ⅛ inch thick.
  7. As each potato is cut, arrange the slices in slightly overlapping concentric circles in the pie plate (or rows, if your pan isn’t round).
  8. Season with salt and pepper.
  9. Spoon over some of the warm garlic-infused cream, lightly pressing down on the potatoes with the back of the spoon so that the cream works its way around all of the slices.
  10. Continue until you’ve filled the pan. If you’re shy of a little garlic-infused cream – you want the cream to just peek around the edges of the pan – pour over a little light cream or milk.
  11. If you’re using the herbs, strew them over the potatoes.
  12. Dust the top of the gratin with the grated cheese.
  13. Slide the gratin (on the baking sheet) into the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  14. Then check the gratin; if you can poke a knife through the potatoes and easily reach the bottom of the pan, the gratin is done. If the potatoes need more time but the gratin is getting too brown, cover the top loosely with foil and bake until the potatoes are tender, another 15 minutes or so.
  15. Remove the gratin from the oven and let it rest in a very warm place (or in the turned-off oven with the door open) for 5 to 10 minutes before you serve it, just so the bubbles can settle down and the potatoes can absorb the maximum amount of cream.

Serves: 8

Source:  Dorie  Greenspan, “Around My French Table”

Salad Bar Forever!

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Once you start thinking of things to add to a salad bar, your brain goes crazy!  And this is just a beginning.  A salad bar can be a main, side, or “instead of”.  Because of the way food comes packaged (cans, bags, bunches) there will be leftovers

Ingredients:

§  LETTUCE – iceberg, romaine, red, mixed, spinach, kale, cabbage – red/green

§  TOMATOES – Roma, cherry, heirloom, sundried

§  MUSHROOMS – white, baby portobello, fancy, marinated

§  CELERY

§  RADISHS

§  PEPPER – green, red, yellow, jalapeno

§  CARROTS – fresh, pickled

§  CUCUMBERS – fresh, marinated

§  BEANS – garbanzo, kidney, pinto, green, wax, edamame

§  ONION – green, red, sweet, pickled, crispy

§  CHEESE – cheddar, jack, blue, parmesan, feta, burrata, mixed grated, grated/diced cheese of last week

§  BACON BITS

§  BEEF – diced, shredded, ground with taco seasoning

§  SEAFOOD – scallops, crab, salmon, shrimp – bay, tuna – plain old canned

§  CHICKEN – diced, shredded, seasoned, chicken sausage

§  HAM – julienne, diced

§  SALAMI

§  HARD BOILED EGGS

§  PEAS – snap, baby

§  BROCCOLI, SQUASH, ASPARAGUS, BEETS – roasted, marinated/pickled, fresh

§  CORN – roasted, plain, baby

§  ARTICHOKE HEARTS

§  FRUIT – pears, grapes, mandarin oranges, apples, avocado,
strawberries, pomegranate arils, melon

§  DRIED FRUIT – cranberries, cherries, raisins, mango, blueberries

§  CRUNCH – croutons – plain, seasoned, tortilla strips, crispy noodles, water chestnuts, jicama

§  NUTS – pine, pecans, almond slivers, peanuts, candied, roasted

§  SEEDS – pepitas, sunflower, sesame

§  OLIVES – green, black, sliced, marinated, Greek

§  FRESH HERBS – Basil, Mint, Chives, Dill, Parsley

§  GRAINS – Couscous, Farro, Quinoa, Barley, Rice

§  OTHER – tofu, cottage cheese, seasonal (ramps, fiddlehead fern)

§  ASSORTED DRESSINGS – bottled AND/or home made.  Be sure all have labels.

Directions:

  1. Slice, dice, cut open all the ingredients.
  2. Place in bowls with serving spoons, tongs.

Serves:  1 head of lettuce will serve 6-8

Note:  For a large crowd double the ingredient bowls and use both sides of the table to serve.

 

This entry was posted in Salads and tagged .